Dry-pipe valve.



R. GRINNELL. v

. DRY PIPE VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26, I910. I

' Patented Sept. 25, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

INVENTEIR.

ATTEIRNEY.

R. GRINNELL. DRY PIPE VALVE.

. APPLICATION FILED MAY 25 -|910f l ,241 ,20&- I PatentedSept. 25, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

FIQZ.

WITNEE'EES I -|N\/ENTEH={.

ATTEJHNEY.

section, on an enlarged scale, of the dry salaries "RUSSELL GRINNELL, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR T0 GENERAL FIRE EXTING-UIS HER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEi/V YORK.

DB Y-PIPE VALVE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 25, 13:917.

Application filed May 26, 1910. Serial No. 563,616.

Pipe Valves; and I do hereby declare the a following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same, to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

In certain places, as for example on steamships or steam-boats, it has been found to be impracticable or undersirable to install the ordinary dry-pipe automatic sprinkler systems, in which air under pressure is maintained in the distributing .pipes, and

in which the dry pipe valve is normally held closed by the air pressure in the system.

The object of the present invention is to provide a dry pipe valve adapted for use in places or under conditions where the employment of the ordinary dry pipe valve is thus impracticable or undesirable.

To that end the invention consists primarily of a dry pipe valve adapted to be held closed by the pressure in the supply pipe, and adapted to be electrically con-. trolled as to its opening.

The invention further consists of a dry pipe valve adapted to be held closed, by the pressure in the supply pipe, and adapted to be controlled as to its opening by the operamostat circuits employed in connection.

therewith; and Fig. 2 is .a central vertical pipe valve.

It will be convenient to first describe the construction and operation of the dry pipe valve and then to describe the arrangement of the sprinkler sections and the electric thermostat system and the combination of a series of said dry pipe valves therewith.

Referring to Fig. 2, the dry pipe valve, Which as a Whole may be desig ated as A,

comprises the valve casing 1 which is of a form in which the inlet 2 and the outlet 3 are arranged at right angles to each other. The valve is a difi'erentialvalve comprising a body portion 4 and two valves 5 and 7, the smaller valve?) being arranged to seat upon a valve-seat 6 to normally close the inlet- 2, and the larger valve 7 being arranged to seat upon a valve-seat 8 to normally close an opening between the main chamber 9 of the valve-casing and a supplemental chamber 10. The larger valve 7 is preferably a flexible valve, consisting in the form shown of an annulus, preferably of rubber, clamped between the upper flanged end of the body portion i and a plate 11, the parts being held securely together by screws 12.

The plate 11 is provided with a central boss 13 through which extends the valve stem 14 of a supplemental valve 15. A spring 16 surrounds said valve-stem, one end of said spring bearing against the under side of the valve 15, and the other end bear ing against the plate 11, said plate being preferably provided with a central recess to receive the end of said spring. A crosspin 17 is passed through the lower end of the valve-stemll, with the ends of said pin projecting for the purpose of connecting said supplemental valve 15 to the differential valve. A by-pass 18 leads from the inlet 2 to the supplemental chamber 10.

The top-plate 19 of the valve casing is provided, with a central opening in which is screwed a hollow screw-plug 20, the lower end of which forms a valve-seat "15 for the supplemental valve 15, In the head of this screw-plug 20 is an opening 21 surrounded by a valve-seat against which a valve 22 is normally seated. The opening 21 is to be of a larger size 01' area than that of the by-pass 18 leading to the chamber 10. The valve 22 is carried by-a lever- 28, pivoted at 2 1 to a stud 25 projecting upward from the top-plate 19. Preferably said lever 23 is provided with an extension 26, to which *isconnected one end of a spring 27, the

other end of said spring being connected to the top-plate 19. Said top plate is preferably provided with downwardly extending lugs or stops 19 Theopposite end of the lever 23 is adapted to be engaged by a latch 28, forming part of the pivoted armature 29 of an electro-megnet 30 As h n i th drawi gs :Wires t said electro-magnet is supported upon a bracket-1.31 secured to the top-plate 19, and to. whip bracket the armature 219 is pivoted. From 'thebinding posts 82, seemed the 85, ofthe electric thermostat sys- "Preferably a drip-valve or drain-cool: 36, which maybe of the usual ball type, is employed said drip-valve being arranged to fill:

communicate with the lower end of the'main chamber fact the valve casing.

' -,'l lhe operationof the dry pipevalve abo've bed is as follows: iilfithfthe.jolripwalve SG Te'niplOyedthe main chamber 9 of the valve-casing, and consequently the distributing pipes with which the outlet 3, com- Inumcates, will be open to the atmosphere and thus with only atmospheric pressure therein. By reason of the by-pass 18 the water pressure in the supply or inlet 2 will be present in the supplementalchamber .10,

andso that there will thuslo'e the same pressure. upon the upper sideof the valve -7 as there is upon the lower side of the valve 5. By reason of the difi'erential area of thevalve 7, the1"efor e, the inlet valve 5 willbe held tightly seated by the supply pressure, and the water'thereby excluded from the distrib- .uting pipes so long as the supply pressure is maintained in said chamber 10,- and as will be seen, the supply pressure will be maintained in said chamber so long as the valve 22 remains latched to its seat, as shown in 2. It will also be seen thatsaid valve will remain thus latched to its seat as long as the electric circuit, of which ,the'wires 32, 33, form a part, remains open. If now said electric circuit be closed, and

the electro-magnet 30 thereby energized, the attraction of the pivoted armature 29 will serve to unlatch the lever 23 and thus release the valve 22. @rdinarily thewater pressure in the supplemental chamber will serve to open the valve 22, but the spring 27, if employed, will serve to give a quick opening movement to said valve, and will also be of assistance in opening the valve, it should happen to stick.

' When the valve 22 is thus opened thee water pressure in the chamber 10 will, by reason of. the greater area of the opening 21 as compared with the area of the by-pass 18, bereleased, thereby reducingthe presi sure upon the-upper side of the valve 7,

and thus permitting the valve 5 to be opened by, thc water-pressure acting thereon, and permitting the water to flow through the chamber 9'to the out-let 3 and thence to the distributing pipes. As the difierential valve moves upward under the action of the water pressure upon the'valve 5, the supplemental valve 15 will. first-,be brought in contact with its valve seat 15*, thereby closing the opening; through the screw-plug 20 and preventing bination of When the differential valve has thus opened said valve cannot thereafter be water columned, because if, for any reason, the water-valve should become closed and a,

.water-column should be formed in the riser of the distributing pipes, the pressure due to such column, would be present in the main chamber 9,"where it would act upon the under surface of the valve 7, as well as upon the upper surface of the valve 5, and so that by reason-of the largerarea of the valve 7, the result would be to raise and open the valve 5 ratherthan to hold the same closed.

There is; however, practically no liability in the'present construction of the valve 5 becoming closed after it has once opened, and for the reason that a further'function of the supplemental valve 15 is to hold the diii'erential valve in its upper or open position When said valve has been moved to that position. When the valve 15 has been raised against its seat, thereby closing the opening 21, the water-pressure from the supply, which will be present in the chamber 10,.will act upon the under side of said valve 15 to hold the'same closed, and the area of said valve 15 is such that the water-pressure acting thereon will, through the connection between said valve 15 and the differential valve, serve .to sustain the weightpf said differential valve and thus prevent said valve from falling and closing the inlet.

As will be understood, the drip-valve 36, which is normally open to the atmosphere, will take care of any leakage which may occur, either past the valve 5 or past the valve 7, and so that the accumulation of water in: the distributing pipes from such cause will be prevented,'and said distributing pipes maintained open to the atmosphere.

Referrin now to. Fig. 1 and to the comone or more of the dry pipe valves above described with a sprinkler system and an electric thermostat system, the sprinkler system is, as heretofore explained,

v divided intoisections, and in said figure-four of suchsections are shown, there bein consequently, four of said dry pipe valves one for each of said sections. 1 As shown'jsaid dry pipe valves are connectetl with (11a horizontal header 37 said header communicating with the inlet of each two on theother side of said supply pipe.

The risers 39* and 39 leading from the two out-er valves connect with horizontal distributing pipes 40 and 40 respectively, lo cated at one level, while the risers 39 and 39 leading from the two inner valves connect with horizontal distributing pipes 40 and 40 respectively, located at a higher level, as for example an upper floor of a building or an upper deck of a steamer. Each of the distributing pipes is provided with sprinklers, preferably of the automatic type, only one of which is shown on each of said pipes in the drawing. The sprinklers shown are designated as 41, 41*, 41, and 41 respectively.

The thermostat system comprises a series of electric circuits, one for each section of the sprinkler system, each of said circuits being provided with a series of thermostats, designated as 42, 42 42, and 42 respectively. One of these thermostats is located adjacent to each sprinkler, as shown. A battery B is common to all the electric circuits. As shown in Fig. 1, the wires 32 leading from the electromagnets 30of the four valves A are all connected to a common wire 48 which is connected to one pole of the. battery B. From the other pole of said battery leads a wire 44 having branches 45 leading to one terminal of each of the several thermostats in each circuit, while with the other terminal of each thermostat in a given circuit is connectedthe wire 33 leading to the electro-magnet 30 of the valve A which is connected with that section of the sprinkler system with which said circuit is related.

The operation of the apparatus and combination above described is as follows: Normally the water is excluded from all. the sections of the sprinkler system, the risers and distributing pipes of each section being open to the atmosphere, as above explained.

-When now a fire breaks out one of the thermostats will be operated to close the electric circuit with which said thermostat is connected. This will have the leftect to energize the electro-magnet 30 of the dry pipe valve A which controls the flow of water to the corresponding section of the sprinkler system, thereby causing said valve to be opened and thus permit the flow of water to that section. Thus if the themestat 42 for example, or any other thermostat in that circuit, be operated the result will be to bring about the opening of the valve A which controls the flow of water to the corresponding distributing pipe 40, and, as will be seen, only this one valve A will in such case be opened. So if the-thermostat 42, or any other thermostat in that circuit, be operated, the result will be to bring about the opening of the valve A which controls the flow of water to the distributing pipe 40.

If the sprinklers employed be open sprinklers, then when the thermostat 42* operates and water is. admitted to the distributing pipe 40 the water will flow from all of the sprinklers on that pipe or in that section.

If, however, the sprinklers employed be, as is preferred, automatic sprinklers, then when the thermostat 12 operates, the corresponding sprinkler 4L1 will be automatically opened, and when the water is admitted to the distributing pipe' lO it will flow only from said sprinkler 41 or such other sprinkler or sprinklers as may have been opened by theheat of the fire.

The dry pipe valve above described is simple in construction, and eflicient in operation. Moreover, as will be seen, it is not necessary to maintain air-pressure in the distributing. pipes for the purpose of holding the valve closed, but instead said valve is held closed by the water-pressure in the supply pipe. The sprinklers employed may therefore, if desired, be open sprinklers. If automatic sprinklers be employed, when one of said sprinklers opens, the discharge of water therefrom will, by reason of the fact that there is no air-pressure in the distributing pipes, follow promptly upon the opening of the dry pipe valve. Moreover, as the openingof said dry pipe valve is controlled by the operation of a thermostat in closing an electric circuit, and as. such ther- 1.05 mostat is very likely to be operated by the heat'of a fire in advance of the opening of the adjacent automatic sprinkler, it may very often happen that the dry pipe valve will be opened and water admitted to that section of the sprinkler system before the automatic sprinkler has itself opened, and so that the water will be dischargedfrom such sprinkler immediately upon the opening of the same.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a dry pipe valve, the combination of a main chamber, a supplemental chamber, a differential valve, means for admitting 12c pressure from'the supply pipe to said supplemental chamber for holding said differential valve closed, an opening from said supplementalchamber, a valve for normally closing said opening, and a second valve for 125 closing said opening after it has been opened, said second valve being yieldingly supported to act as a cushion for said differentialvalve in opening.

2. "in a dry pipe valve, the combination of a main chamber, a supplemental chamber, opened, said second valve being connected to a difierential valve, means for admitting said differential valve and adapted to hold 1) pressure from the supply pipe to said supthe same in its open position.- plemental chamber, for holding said difier- I L GRINNELL ential valve closed, an ,Opening from said supplemental chamber, a valve for normally Witnesses: closing said opening, and a second valve for WV. H.- THURSTON,

closing said opening; "after it has been J. H. THURSTON. 

